Ahead of the eighth annual Mubadala World Tennis Championship starting on December 31, Ahmed Rizvi outlines the key information for the event below:
What is it?
A six-competitor singles-only tennis exhibition tournament, that has been held in the Capital annually since 2009. Every year it brings the ATP’s cream, including members of the Big Four, closer to their fans here in the UAE.
When is it?
December 31 to January 2, with the quarter-finals between the bottom four seeds kicking it off on the opening day. Gates open at noon.
Where is it?
The tennis stadium at Zayed Sports City, easily reached via Airport Road and turning at the Hilton Capital Grand. A more detailed map is available below.
Who will be here?
Six of the world's top players - world No 4 Stan Wawrinka, 14-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, Spanish workhorse David Ferrer, French entertainer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, South African ace Kevin Anderson and the big-serving Milos Raonic from Canada.
Tickets
Available online at www.ticketmaster.ae, in three different seating categories. Single-day and three-day package availability. Prices vary by day and category. The cheapest adult tickest cost Dh100 (quarter-finals), Dh250 (semi-finals) and Dh350 (final and third-place).
Past champions
The tournament’s honour roll includes Novak Djokovic (2011-Dec, 2013, 2014), Andy Murray (2009 and 2015) and Rafael Nadal (2010 and 2011-Jan)
Match schedule
Thursday – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v David Ferrer, 4pm; Milos Raonic v Kevin Anderson, To Follow
Friday – Fifth/Sixth place match, 2.30pm; Rafael Nadal v Tsonga/Ferrer winner, 5pm; Stan Wawrinka v Raonic/Anderson winner, To Follow
Saturday – Third/Fourth place match, 5pm; Championship, 7pm
Anything else?
The Mubadala tournament is an easy way to get intimate with some of the big names in tennis – the fan zone outside the stadium has a relaxed atmosphere, and the players are accessible through autograph signings, Q&A sessions and various appearances. The Zayed Sports City tennis stadium isn’t very large, either, so no matter the ticket, a quality spectator experience is guaranteed. One of the best-run events on the annual UAE sporting calendar.
What to know about the other competitors
Kevin Anderson – At 6ft 8ins, Anderson’s strengths are easy to figure out. He has a powerful baseline game, of course, but that serve is the money-maker. This year he finished third on the tour, with 1,074 aces (he was fifth last year and third the year before). He also had the fourth-best numbers for first service points won this year (80 per cent, the same as Roger Federer).
Milos Raonic – Raonic has already made his mark as the highest-ranked Canadian player in history, and though born in Montenegro, he has modelled his game on Pete Sampras. He is pretty open about it as well. “I taped most of his matches and watched them over and over again. If he was playing in Melbourne, my parents would let me stay up. Sampras was the person to study, the model to learn from.”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga has long been one of the tour’s most gifted players, and one of its most popular, despite not being a serial winner. It turns out sporting success runs in the family. His father Didier, originally from Congo, was voted Africa’s best handball player in 1974. Charles N’Zogbia, the Aston Villa player, is a second cousin.
David Ferrer – Ferrer is one of the circuit’s most relentless consistent players. He is always there in the mix during the latter stages of a tournament and that he has yet to win a major is hardly proof of fallibility. It is some achievement given that, at 5ft 9ins, he is the shortest player in the top 20 rankings and quite possibly some distance beyond that.
Stan Wawrinka – Those “please-spare-my-eyes” shorts, the tattoos (“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”), and that backhand make Wawrinka among the best-known players outside tennis’s Big Four. Did you know, though, that in 2014 he officially requested the ATP to shorten his name from ‘Stanislas’ to ‘Stan’?
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